Tripping Sights and Sounds You Miss

[lowangle al]

Besides those physical things like loons and misty mornings ect. the thing I missed most was just being outside. I love being outside and I feel deprived when I'm stuck inside without much quality outside time. When I started working construction and was outside 65 to 70 hours per week in all weather I no longer had that need. That was a good thing because I had very little time to trip anyway. Since retiring, I now get to spend a lot of time outside. I also get in a lot of paddling. I would say that at one time I needed to trip. Now it isn't as much a "need" as it is a desire.

 

[Boreal Birch]

My mother used to say, to her children, “Always give credit to where credit is due.” So, that said, a bunch of you deserve some credit for explaining to us what I feel is the true essence of canoe tripping. Kudos to the OP, credit is certainly due in creating your best post ever.

 

[Erica]

The call of the loons and white-throated sparrow and hermit thrush.
Whispers of wind through the pines
Being tucked in a warm sleeping bag when all around me is nippy.
Stars in a truly dark sky.
Paddling in the moonlight

As others have mentioned, it takes me about three days to settle in. There’s another change in state of consciousness that takes palace around 12 days. I have not been able to find that one again in 30 years.

 

[Robin]

The first hints of water thru the trees at the end of a portage.
The smell of campfire on my clothes.
The view of the wilderness that frames my canvas packs and wooden canoe out in front of me.
The water dripping off my paddle on a windless day.
Anticipating the tail slap as a beaver moves silently across my bow.
Meeting my friend at a prearranged campsite at the end of a day of solo paddling.

 

[Seeker]

Sounds:

• Loons, red squirrels, and white-throated sparrows
• Trout flipping around the bottom of a canoe
• Wooden paddle on wooden gunwale
• Water dripping of a paddle
• The lap of water against the shore
• Wind in the pines and leaves
• Water as it falls
• Crackle of fire, especially when it's cold/wet and you get that first bit of tinder and kindling going

Sights:

• The first sighting of water at the end of a long portage
• That glimpse of camp coming back home when it's raining
• Just my campsite in general
• My canoe on the water's edge at the first put-in, packed and ready
• The portage sign you've been looking for

Smells:

• Campfire smoke
• Bacon or sausage cooking
• Burnt marshmallows
• Iodine (Polar Pure water treatment)
• Rain on the wind
• Any forest smells... leaves, moss, animals, water